Larrabee takes over helm of Cougars, looks to add stability, consistency

At the end of the soccer season, Rick Larrabee was hired as Katahdin’s first year boys basketball coach. Though he has been coaching for the last 11 years, this is Larrabee’s first ever varsity coaching job.
Larrabee coached middle school boys for two years at China Middle School; was a student manager/student assistant with the men’s basketball program at the University of Maine at Presque Isle for a year; middle school coach at Washburn for two years; freshmen boy’s coach at Erskine Academy for five years and junior varsity boys coach at Carrabec last year. While at Erskine Academy and Carrabec, Larrabee also was the assistant to the varsity coach.
Larrabee wanted to take the next step in his coaching career to “help build a program, while working with high school students to meet their goals both in the classroom and on the court, while also contributing to the local communities which have such rich basketball traditions,” he explained.
Many coaches try to instill life lessons through sports, and Larrabee is no different.
“I want my athletes to learn that they have to work for what they want and that nothing is going to be given to them. I want them to be good people and care about themselves, their teammates, their families, their communities, and the people around them,” he said. “Respect goes a long way, and it’s important that they respect everyone and the game. Keeping their grades up and striving to get into college is also a major goal that I want them to be mindful of.”
During the season, Larrabee will concentrate on developing the team as a whole.
“A foundation needs to be set that can continue to be built upon in the following years,” he said. “I believe it is important for a coach to take the athletes who they have and find a system that will work best for them and not try to force their players into a system that might not work with the pieces that they have.
“Players need to learn and understand the game,” Larrabee added. “They must be constantly willing to add to their knowledge of the game.”
Even though the Katahdin Cougars lost their season opener in Hodgdon last Friday, Larrabee believes his team can finish with a solid year.
“Expectations are high and we all want to have a good season,” he said. “It would be great to have a lot of community support in all aspects. I am the fourth coach in five years to have this program and I am hoping to create some stability and consistency.
“I know I have hard working student-athletes who want to succeed and make a deep playoff run,” he added.
Larrabee is a graduate of Erskine Academy and the University of Maine at Presque Isle. He is in his first year of teaching history at Katahdin Middle and High School.